


Polarize

by straighttoneverland



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-05-21
Packaged: 2018-03-31 12:57:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3978889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/straighttoneverland/pseuds/straighttoneverland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just another University AU. Louis works at a cafe that makes him loathe his life, Zayn goes to Uni studying art and english and is in love with the star lacrosse player, Liam Payne. Harry is studying for a degree in the arts and Niall is a mutual to all of them, whom they all adore. Basically, just a fic that is painful and filled with complete madness. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Tomlinson! Get off your arse, you have a table.”

Louis glanced up from his steaming cup of tea with a look of pure annoyance. Of course someone would come in ten minutes before his shift was over and, of fucking course, they'd have to sit in _his_ section.

“Coming,” He sighed in response, giving his tea one last longing look because he knew that by the time he managed to get back to it it'd be cold and undesirable.

With a quick dusting off of his apron, he made his way out of the kitchen, getting a sympathetic look from the cook, Barb, as he did so. Swinging open the door to the waiting area, it was just a small area filled with cups, trays, and a soda machine, he came face to face with his manager.

His manager was an old man with a gut and thinning hair, he went by the name of Frank and he was the cause of Louis' constant bad mood.

Louis abruptly stopped, giving Frank an expectant look, simply wait for him to make his usual snide remark. It was usually something along the lines of : 'Tomlinson, stop acting like a wanker and get your list done!' or 'Tomlinson, tuck in your shirt!' or even Louis' personal favorite 'Tomlinson, you need to wear looser pants, you're distracting the customers!'.

But, the old man just sighed, obviously exhausted from the long night they had had. Although, Louis couldn't even feel bad because who in their right mind opens up a 24 hour cafe in a town full of hipster kids that will most definitely take advantage of the free wifi and late hours. Then again, who in their right mind gets a job at said cafe? Louis internally sighs at the thought, regretting his life decisions.

“Just get moving, Tommo. Once they leave, you can head home.” Frank finally says, bumping Louis' shoulder as he moves past him and into the kitchen.

Louis just raises his eyebrows at that, not saying anything, but grabbing his notepad and pen before heading over to his section.

The cafe was small, with four different sections, one of them being a bar area by the kitchen, another towards the far right where most of the old people sat to converse with each other in the mornings, the third was right in the middle, which most people avoided, and the last was Louis' normal section. His area was in the far back, all the available seats were booths and it happened to be the area where most of the annoying University kids sat with their black coffee and laptops open.

He headed back there, already pasting a fake smile on his face as he prepared himself to deal with whatever wanker decided to come in at four in the morning for shitty cafe food.

“Hi, my name is Louis and I'll-” He cut himself off as he glanced up to see the customer he was dealing with.

“Hey, babe.” Zayn responded, ignoring Louis' silence and seeming completely at ease.

“You're a fucking tosser.” Louis finally said, rolling his eyes at the boy in front of him. The boy, Zayn, happened to be his best friend and roommate, also know as : The Most Annoying Person To Exist, or Louis could just be thinking that right at the moment because Zayn knew he was almost done with his shift and would fucking come here just to aggravate him.

“Sounds like someone doesn't want a tip.” He responded, looking back to his menu with a straight face and raised eyebrows.

Louis just rolled his eyes, relaxing and leaning against the wall. “Please tell me you've decided to be a good friend and you're only here to save me the pain of taking the bus home with all the weird people that smell like cat piss.”

Zayn made a face at that before recomposing, “That's a possibility, depending what's in it for me.” He simply responded, looking up with a look that would be pure innocence, if it weren't for his eyes that screamed mischief.

Louis took it all with ease, giving his friend a sweet smile, “Well, I won't mention to Liam anything about your shrine that you have going on in you room.”

He blanched at that, face dropping and hands going up in wild gestures, “It's not a bloody shrine, Louis, it was a fucking project for my photography class and he happened to offer his help and-” He cut off for a moment, giving a full glare to Louis who was smirking at him in amusement. “I'm just proud of the stupid project, okay?” Then he looked down with a sad expression. “Not like he's even really talked to me since then.”

This caused Louis to playfully roll his eyes, “Oh shut up, you're both so oblivious to each other, it's disgusting.” As he said this, he could clearly recall the couple nights Liam, Zayn's Uni 'friend', had come over to help Zayn with his project. The fucking jock had followed Zayn around with these puppy-dog eyes that screamed fond. Louis remembered getting completely piss drunk a couple of those nights because he hadn't been able to deal with their dumb, obvious flirting and giggling.

“Whatever, I didn't even figure out if he liked guys.” Zayn sighed, carding a hand through his, now messy, quiff.

“Oh, sweety, he definitely likes boys.” Louis confirmed. Liam may have the frat-boy, jock look down to a tee, but there was no denying that he was gay. Louis knew these things.

“Can I just get a coffee to go?” Zayn asked, gesturing with his hands that the conversation was over.

“Yes, sir.” Louis mockingly responded, patting his friend on the back as he started to walk back to the waiters area.

He started to hurry with Zayn's order, grabbing his things from the back as the machine brewed the coffee; there was no way he was staying later than he already had. And, being the great friend he was, he even paid for Zayn's order, not wanting to waste more time and end up getting stuck there.

Frank was side-eying him the whole time with a slight glare, and Louis had half a mind to tell him to go home and get some beauty rest because he definitely needed it. He decided against that, figuring with the mood Frank was in, that could get him fired.

With quick movements, Louis quickly punched out, throwing on his sweater and heading back to Zayn, waving at Frank with a sarcastic smirk.

“Let's go before my manager actually murders me.” He hurriedly said, handing Zayn his coffee and then pulling him up by his sleeve.

“Wow, someone really loves their job.” Zayn commented, but began moving to the exit anyways, shouting goodbye to Barb (who actually happened to adore both of them and continually hinted at the fact that she thought that they were 'secretly' dating, although that'd be more than weird, but they loved her anyways).

 

Once they were outside Louis had to brace himself against the chilly, fall air that Manchester seemed to love. “Fuck this,” He muttered, jogging to Zayn's shitty little car that was pulled up by the front of the building.

“Oh, stop being such a baby.” Zayn told him, but Louis could see he was hurriedly getting his keys out to unlock the car doors.

Louis hopped into the passenger seat, blowing warm air on his hands as Zayn got in and started the car, the engine rumbling loudly in protest.

It wasn't till they were backing up that Louis looked behind into the backseats. He came face to face with a head of a mannequin, two canvases, a stop sign, spray paint, and a couple pieces of a picket fence.

“You know, if it were anyone, but you, I would hop out of this car right now and run for my life.” He commented, giving Zayn a weird look.

He just shrugged, lighting up a cigarette and opening the window, “It's for a project.”

“Isn't it always?” Louis mumbled, before turning up the stereo and sitting back, happy that he was finally done with work for three whole days, which would most likely be spent getting drunk in the flat alone two nights and then going out with Zayn to a shitty pub on Saturday. It was sort of their ritual whenever Louis had more than two days off.

It was only a ten minute ride to their apartment complex, and Louis didn't even cringe when he saw it coming up in their view. When they had first moved in he had been horrified, sure he had known they were living on a budget, but the place looked like it was violating twenty safety regulations and that was just from the outside.

Zayn never seemed to mind it, though Louis just figured he was happy the money he was getting from financial aid could cover his rent and what not so that he didn't have to get a job and study at the same time. Louis couldn't even blame him, and that was why he never suggested moving, because with Louis' checks and tips, he could afford a much better place, but he knew Zayn couldn't and that's why he just never even brought it up. He'd never abandon his best friend (even though he was an asshole most of the time). So, one of them went to Uni full time and the other, himself, just worked.

Louis had tried the whole University thing, but he never really liked it and he was really just buying time and wasting money, so he dropped out. He was only twenty and still wasn't sure of what he wanted to do with his life. He had reasoned that by twenty-two he needed to figure something out, but in the meantime he was just going to continue to work and occasionally try out for a part in whatever the local theater was putting on.

Zayn abruptly pulled into their designated parking space, turning the car off and getting out, Louis following suit.

The one true horrible thing about their apartment : they lived upstairs and Louis fucking hated stairs.

“Carry me, Zayn, I don't think I'll make it.” He dramatically sighed, letting himself fall against the railing.

Zayn only raised his eyebrows, brushing past him and heading up the stairs with heavy footsteps.

“Tosser,” He mumbled before following, dragging his feet as he did so.

Louis eventually made it upstairs, huffing slightly, and continued to follow Zayn inside, flipping on the kitchen light and making his way to the fridge where a bottle of wine was calling his name.

“You getting drunk with me or are you going to go do some weird rituals with that Liam shrine?” He questioned, shooting a quick smile at Zayn, who was glaring daggers at him from the living room.

“Fuck off,” He responded, flopping onto the couch, “And please get me a glass of wine, filled.”

Louis smiled wider at that, filling Zayn a plastic cup full and grabbing the rest of the bottle for himself.

He made his way to the living room, kicking off his shoes and sweater as he did so. “This is sad, I'm even a waiter at home.” He grimaced, handing Zayn his glass.

“Well, sorry, but you're not getting a tip from me, babe.”

Louis stuck his tongue out at him for that one, settling on the couch next to Zayn.

“So, are we going to get drunk and cry to each other about our problems again? Because last Friday I swear you were about to have a heart attack about how 'big and strong' Liam's biceps are.”

He got a quick flick on the forehead for that one and figured he deserved it. “No, we're going to be quiet, drink our wine, and watch reruns of Supernatural.” He spoke, reaching for the remote. “Oh,” He begun to add, “And at least I have someone I like, when was the last time you actually showed interest in someone?”

Louis placed his hand over his heart in a mockingly wounded way, “I am hurt by that, my dear Zaynie. Maybe I was destined to die alone, maybe love is nonexistent and I will become an old cat man that likes to drink wine a little too often, maybe we shall grow old together and become the unstoppable duo. Think about it, we could make headlines. The Two Old Lonely Men On The Move Again : Today The Liquor Store, Tomorrow The World. We could be rich. And then, die lonely, old, and rich!” He finished with excitement, raising his wine bottle in a toast and taking a long swig.

Zayn just shook his head, but was smiling in a very fond way. They sat in silence for a moment as Netflix started up.

“The Two Old Lonely Men : This Time They're Nude.” Zayn quietly added on and Louis couldn't hold it in anymore, breaking out in loud laughter with Zayn.

They eventually calmed down enough to start where they left off on Supernatual, both them settling down with their drinks and watching the show lazily.

Louis' thoughts were wandering though, mainly focusing on Zayn's earlier comment. He knew the he hadn't meant it in a mean way at all, but it left Louis wondering if he actually would even find someone that he truly liked rather than someone he just wanted to shag for a night and then kick out before the sun was even rising.

He hadn't truly had feelings for someone since he was seventeen, and that had ended horribly, so he always tried to push it into the deepest corners of his mind.

Shaking his head, he took a long swig from his bottle, hoping to clear any rational thoughts.

 

* * *

 

 

Louis woke to a buzzing noise and the urge to kill whoever was making his phone go off. With a grumble of protest, he opened his eyes slightly, finding himself to still be out in the living room. He must have passed out on the couch somewhere in between the last couple sips of his wine and it appeared that someone (definitely Zayn) had covered him up, as well.

Apparently they had both forgotten to close the blinds before going to bed and there was early morning sunlight shining through, making Louis want to curl into a tight ball and never come out. He wasn’t really a morning person and never planned to become one.

With another grumble, he dug around for his phone, which was wedged in between two couch cushions.

He squinted his eyes at the bright light as he unlocked it, tapping his messages open to find two from Zayn and one from his mum.

The first one from Zayn read :

**Left early to work on project with a friend**

And the next one was :

**I’m going to have to work on this later too so make sure that the flat isn’t a disaster and ur at**

**least wearing pants :) xx**

Louis rolled his eyes at that one, quickly typing back a sassy reply that involved him telling Zayn that he was close to committing murder and he was number one on Louis’ list.

The text from his mum was just a simple one reminding him about plans for Christmas, which wasn’t for another three months, but it was her favorite holiday and she was always planning months in advance.

He replied to that one as well before deciding to get up and shower, he was still in his work uniform and he could smell coffee and breakfast food lingering on the clothing.

Louis dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom, rubbing his eyes and avoiding tripping over a pile of clothing in the hallway that needed to be washed. He sighed, yanking the shower handle to the warmest setting, knowing it’d take at least five minutes to actually become anywhere near warm.

While he waited for the shower to warm, Louis grabbed his toothbrush and slowly brushed his teeth, eyes still drooping with tiredness. Rinsing his mouth, he stripped from his clothing, tossing all the articles into the hallway with the rest of the clothes that needed washing.

He took his time in the shower, letting the warm water bring life back into his body and clear away any scent of the diner. He could feel himself slowly becoming more and more awake as the water started to run colder, and he decided it was probably time to get out.

Louis stepped out, wrapping a towel around himself and going to the mirror again. He wiped away the fog on the mirror and gave himself a studious look, debating whether to leave his shaggy hair and slight stubble, or actually shave and do something with himself.

It didn't take him long to decide on the former, shrugging and letting himself out of the bathroom. He hummed to himself as he made his way to his bedroom, flicking on the light after opening the door.

When Zayn and Louis had first moved in, Louis had already called dibs on the master, and he's regretted it everyday since.

The master room was bigger, sure, but the window wasn't built right, so there was always a constant draft. It was either too cold, or too hot, in his room, it was never just right. Not only the temperature, but the light in the ceiling was constantly flickering and his wall was on the other side of his horny neighbors wall. So, Louis got the pleasure of hearing the couple next door fuck _every other night_.

Louis cringed at the thought, recalling having to go to Zayn's bedroom to sleep every now and then because his neighbors were some weird bastards that seemed to love kinky shit.

Shaking the thought off, Louis stepped in front of his wardrobe, searching through the numerous clothing items as he tried to decide on what to wear.

'Probably not gonna be doing much today.' He thought to himself, finally yanking out a pair of worn black jeans and an old jersey shirt. He debated for a moment, before pulling a black beanie from the top shelf, as well.

Louis got dressed quickly, sighing as he finished and looked around his messy room.

The bed, that was pushed against the furthest wall, was unmade, there were clothes littering the floor everywhere, and his desk was a mess of bills. With an exasperated groan, he started to pick up the clothes, tossing them into the hall before quickly (and sloppily) making his bed. He even gathered most of the papers on his desk into a neat pile.

Looking over his room again, he noted that it could probably use a dusting and vacuuming, but he couldn't be bothered to do that sort of thing at the moment, especially knowing that he'd have to go start laundry.

“So, I guess I've become not only a full-time waiter, but a part-time maid as well.” He voiced to himself, hands on his hips as he huffed and went to go start cleaning the rest of the flat.

 

An hour later, Louis was standing in the kitchen and admiring his work. He had dusted and picked up the living room, swept the kitchen, did the dishes, had half the laundry done, and had just finished wiping down the counters.

“And Zayn doubted me.” He muttered, smirking to himself just as his stomach started to rumble loudly. “Oh, shit, seemed to have forgotten about that.” He spoke again and then wondered if it was normal to talk to yourself this much.

Louis shook his head, pulling out his phone and shooting a quick text to Niall, one his best mates.

**a** **ye meet me down at the restaurant on main in 20**

 

Louis only had to wait a minute before his phone buzzed with a reply.

 

**s** **ure thing ya cunt**

 

Which was quickly followed by :

 

**hope ur not having one of those weird breakdowns cuz i dont think i can handle that this early**

 

Louis rolled his eyes before responding and heading to go get his shoes and coat. After putting on both items, he pocketed his keys and wallet, taking once last glance over the flat to see if he was forgetting anything.

Deciding that he probably wasn't, he headed out.

 

* * *

 

“So, you just left her there?” Louis questioned, looking at Niall with a critical glance over his cup of tea.

Niall just shrugged, not seeming that bothered by what he had just told Louis.

Apparently, Niall had gone to a club last night and there was a girl that wouldn't leave him alone. So, being Niall, he told the girl that he'd meet her in the backroom near the bathrooms (Louis' guessing he did this all in his 'seductive Irish way'). But, Niall had just continued to stay at the bar for a few more minutes, before heading out and going to the pub across the street, completely abandoning the girl.

“You know, you're the definition of what a 'fuckboy' is, right?” Louis told his friend, smirking all the same.

Niall, the bastard, just fucking laughed, nodding his head in agreement. “You know, I'm sort of okay with that.” He responded, taking a bite of the pancakes that were in front of him.

Louis just shook his head in fondness, recalling the first time he had met Niall.

It had been his and Zayn's first night out since moving to Manchester. The two of them didn't really know how to meet people other than going out to the bars and clubs downtown, so that's what they did.

So, they had headed down to the nearest bar and started to drink and ease themselves into the atmosphere.

But, there was absolutely no 'easing' into it, because within five minutes of them entering, they were being talked to by a little Irish guy with pink cheeks.

When Louis had asked Niall about why he had approached Zayn and him out of everyone there, he had just shrugged and said : “You two seemed different, interesting. And, everyone else there was bloody fucking boring.”

Niall had fit in with Zayn and Louis easily, always being the guy that was down to do absolutely anything. Louis loved Niall's company, especially when he just wanted to do nothing and not really talk to anyone, but still have the presence of someone being there.

 

“So, what are you doing the rest of the day?” Niall asked, knocking Louis back to the present time.

The two of them were sat in the restaurant that Louis had suggested. It was around mid-day and the place was just wrapping up from a lunch rush. The main reason Louis had insisted on going there was because he knew the food was good, but cheap. He was careful to be mindful about how little money Uni kids had to live on, and with Niall being in the same University as Zayn, he knew that Niall didn't have much spending money.

The place was nice, regardless. It was full of booths and large front windows that let the sun shine in. There was a bar towards the back, like at the cafe Louis worked at, but there was also a whole counter to the side with a display of bakery items you could order.

“Not sure. Zayn's bringing over one of his Uni friends to work on a project and I was planning to just watch Netflix or play some Fifa. Nothing too interesting. Although, Zayn and I are going out tomorrow night and I'm assuming you're coming with.” Louis answered, taking a bite of his toast.

Niall nodded, blonde hair moving slightly with the movement. “Yup, don't have class again till next week anyways.” He spoke, chewing as he talked. “Would you like someone to come keep you company and beat your ass in Fifa?” Niall finished, smiling at Louis like an innocent kid.

Louis just snorted, rolling his eyes. “Horan, you talk a lot of shit for a little guy from Ireland.” And then, “But, you're so on.”

 

* * *

 

 

Niall and Louis were heading back to Louis' flat only a half-hour later. Louis had texted Zayn and warned him he was bringing their little Irish lad back with him and he had gotten a reply quickly, which was just an 'okay' and him saying that he was home already and to not be too disruptive.

“I really think we should go to that new place that just opened up on Johnson.” Niall argued, the two of them were debating where to go tomorrow night. Louis was arguing for their usual place, the one where they knew all the workers and things typically got wild every night, while Niall was going for a new place that Louis wasn't too sure around.

“Yea, but it's never really busy around there and it's sort of a sketch area.” Louis responded, finally reaching the complex door and jamming his key in it to unlock it.

“Okay, but all the kids at Uni were talking about it yesterday and I feel like it's going to be a big hit. They have this really huge DJ playing there tomorrow night because it's the opening and it would be a complete rager.” Niall continued as they headed up the stairs, their footsteps quite loud because Louis had already forgotten about Zayn's warning to not be 'too disruptive'.

“Okay, maybe.” Louis answered, starting to unlock and open the flat's door. “But, if it's completely awful, then you're going to-” He stopped mid-sentence, having had entered the flat and his eyes had landed on a person he didn't recognize sitting in the living room.

The person was looking up and Louis felt a weird jolt as he tried to take in this person all at once.

It was a guy, around his age (maybe a little bit younger). The boy had a thick mass of curly brown hair that was grown out a bit, a couple stands tucked behind his ears. Louis couldn't help, but note how long all of his limbs were, his longs legs were tucked tightly into suffocating black jeans and his tattooed arms were exposed. Louis' eyes finally traveled to the boy's face, taking in the pale skin, wide, green eyes, full lips, and straight nose.

All in all, the boy was fucking beautiful...and starring at Louis with a confused glance.

Louis shook his head slightly, suddenly wishing he had dressed better and also seeming to remember he was supposed to talk in these sort of situations instead of just stare like a fucking creep.

Taking his eyes off the boy, which was a pity, Louis found Zayn sitting on the floor finally looking up from his laptop, giving Louis a somewhat tired glance. “Hey, Lou. Niall.” He greeted, waving slightly as Louis finally got back into gear.

“Hey, buddy. Did you miss me?” Louis smirked, kicking off his shoes and walking forward as Niall did the same.

“Not exactly,” His friend sighed, rolling his eyes and looking back down. Louis frowned at him, sticking out his tongue like a kid.

“Hey, Harry.” Louis heard Niall say and he turned around to give Niall a confused glance. But, Niall was looking straight at the boy (Harry?) sitting on the couch, both of them exchanging smiles.

“You guys know each other?” Louis and Zayn said at the same time, both of them furrowing their eyebrows slightly.

“Yea,” Harry started to speak slowly and Louis could have swooned right there and then because his voice was so deep and smooth that Louis wished he could just listen to it all fucking day. “Niall and I have class together.”

Niall nodded at that, walking into the living room and plopping down in the armchair, a spot that Niall had claimed long ago. “Yea, we also went to the same secondary school.”

“Hmm,” Louis voiced, leaning forward against the back of the couch on the opposite end of Harry and turning towards him. “Well, I'm-”

“Louis.” Harry finished for him, getting another confused stare from Louis and Harry jumped to explain. “I've just heard a lot about you, from both of these two.” This caused Louis to turn to both his friends, giving them both a slight glare as he considered what the two of them would have told Harry.

“Well, tell me Harold, why is this the first time I'm meeting you?” Louis decided to ask and he didn't miss the slight blush in Harry's cheeks as he thought of an answer.

“It's the first time because I didn't want you scaring him off.” Zayn spoke up, giving Louis that familiar glare that clearly said to 'back off'.

Louis just gave him a sweet smile, “Well, Niall and I were gonna play some fifa, but since you two are working so hard, I suppose we can go-”

“Fifa?” Harry asked, cutting Louis off again, but it honestly didn't even bother Louis because he could listen to that voice for the rest of his life and not get tired of it.

“You any good?” Louis questioned, and he knew there was a challenge in his eyes. He was definitely testing Harry, trying to get a hold of his personality.

“Oh, trust me, I'm plenty good.” Harry answered, but then looked towards Zayn who was typing on his laptop, “But, we do have to finish this.” He finished regretfully, green eyes looking slightly disappointed and Louis felt that too.

But, then Zayn sighed again (suppose he was developing a habit of that), closing the lid of his laptop. “Don't worry about it, Harry. We really can't do anything further till we get the materials from the professor next week. It's not due for another two weeks anyways, so we can stop for today.”

Harry seemed to perk up slightly at that, and returned to looking at Louis. “Now, the question is, are you any good?” And Louis could fucking feel a small shock going down his spine as Harry's eyes seemed to just penetrate him.

He slyly smirked despite the feeling, hopping over the back of the couch and grabbing the controllers from the table. “Guess, you'll have to just find out, won't you?”

“I play winner.” Niall mentioned from his spot, scrolling on his phone.

“That'll be me.” Louis confidently said, turning on the Xbox and starting up the game as he side-eyed Harry, only to find him already giving Louis a competitive look.

They were only ten minutes into the game and Louis had already scored twice. He would whoop loudly every time he scored a goal, and Harry would just laugh and shrug, seeming to enjoy himself all the same.

“What happened to be 'plenty good' at this game, Harold?” Louis questioned, smirking at the lanky boy beside him.

“Well, I've only really played with Zayn and I guess he's not that great.” He responded, looking back and smiling innocently at Zayn, who was sulking at the kitchen table. He flipped both of them off, going back to reading his book for some English class he was taking.

The rest of the match continued on in the same manner; Louis kept scoring and becoming more and more confident each time. There was a point where he finally just let Harry score and pretended to be upset about it, but honestly he just wanted to see the boy's reaction and it was well worth it. When Harry finally scored he clapped his hands together, teeth and dimples showing as he smiled happily. .He wasn't hard to please, Louis could say that for sure.

The score ended with 11:1, Louis letting his controller fall next to him as he stretched his arms behind his head. “Still the undefeated Tommo.”

Harry gave him an amused glance and Louis wished he could admire Harry's face forever, but apparently starring was really frowned upon in the modern day.

“We'll see about that.” Niall voiced in, grabbing the controller from Harry and starting up another match.

The rest of the afternoon went on like that. Harry, Niall, and Louis played four matches total. Harry and Louis played twice against each other, Louis winning both of them, and then Niall won against Louis and got to play against Harry, him winning both times, as well. They all tried to get Zayn to play, but he just brushed them off, saying he had to finish his book. Louis noted that his friend's mode was off and kept in mind to ask him about it later.

“Well, I think we can all agree that Curly here isn't all that great at Fifa.” Louis joked, nudging Harry with his shoulder. Apparently, the two of them had somehow went from separate ends of the couch to sitting right next to each other in the middle.

“I also think we can all agree that if I don't get going I'm going to have no energy for tomorrow night.” Niall put in, yawning as he stood up and stretched his arms.

“Tomorrow night?” Harry questioned, leaning forward a little bit as he looked at Niall.

“Clubbing night. Whenever Lou has off for more than two days in a row, we make a night where we all go out.” Niall explained, walking towards the door to put on his shoes.

Louis started to smirk, “You know, Harry, you should come with.” And just the thought of seeing Harry, an awkwardly tall and lanky guy, in a club, drunk was enough to amuse Louis, and possibly turn him on.

Harry lit up at the invitation, nodding his head right away. “Yea, that sounds great.” He agreed, and Louis saw his eyes going to the clock hung on the wall. “But, I should get going. If I'm going to fuck around tomorrow night, I should probably get my essay done tonight.” Louis nodded at his words, but was hung on the word 'fuck' coming out of his mouth and just how appealing it sounded in that goddamn voice.

“Well, I'm assuming Zayn has your number, so I'll just get it from him and text you the details tomorrow.” Louis said, getting up as Harry did the same.

“Anything I should prepare myself for?” Harry asked as Louis walked him to the door, opening it for him and Niall.

Niall snorted at that, “Oh, mate, you have no clue what you've even gotten yourself into.” He said this looking directly at Louis who blinked his eyes in an innocent way, Louis got a playful eye roll in return. “This one likes to go a bit too hard.”

Now it was Louis' turn to snort, “Says the one that attempted to grab the soda hose from the bartender to spray a 'self-righteous cunt face'.”

Niall and Louis both laughed at the memory and Louis glanced at Harry, expecting him to look completely baffled by them, but he just looked fond and excited.

“So, basically you're in for a good night.” Louis smiled.

“I hope so.” Harry responded and Louis didn't miss the slight mischievous glint to his eyes.

Louis shooed the two of them out, promising to text both of them tomorrow with where and when to meet up.

He leaned against the door after closing, and locking, it. His eyes were shut and he let out a long sigh, letting himself trace over Harry's features that he had memorized and thinking to himself 'how could someone be so beautiful?'.

Louis attempted to compose himself, stepping away from the door and towards the kitchen where Zayn was slumped over, head resting on his arms, book completely forgotten.

“Where in the world have you been hiding him?” He immediately exclaimed, hands on hips and looking at his friend accusingly.

Zayn looked up, “Warning, Lou, Harry's not the type to just fuck around. If you want him, you better want a committed thing, mate.”

“So, he is gay?” Louis questioned further, sitting across from him.

Zayn nodded, “As far as I know. He's only talked about boys, never girls, so I'm assuming so.”

Louis smirked, but almost wanted to frown at Zayn's previous words. The word 'commitment' made Louis want to cringe back and forget any plans about trying to shag Harry. But, he pushed all those thoughts about boys with green eyes away for now, focusing on his friend that was obviously upset.

“Okay, moving on, what's up with you? You've been in a bad mood ever since I got home.” Louis asked, pulling his legs up and looking at Zayn with a concerned glance.

Zayn moaned, burying his head in his hands. “Liam.” He groaned out, letting out a small whine.

Louis smiled now, knowing he was about to hear an entertaining story. “C'mon, babe, tell me all about it.”

Zayn huffed, sitting up straight again. “Okay, it's really fucking stupid, but I was heading to go get lunch from that little shop on campus and I go in, get my coffee, realize I'm running late for my next class, so I'm rushing. I'm balancing my books and coffee in both hands, so when I turn the fucking corner out of the shop I run right into him. Lou, it was awful. It was like those moments in movies where the coffee just goes everywhere, but it wasn't cute. I was flustered and dressed like this,” He motions to himself and the outfit he was wearing, which was very similar to Louis'. “And, of fucking course, Liam was his usual self, all bright and 'it's okay'. The one time I talk to him since that project and it's because I spilt coffee all over him.” Zayn finished, letting out another loud groan and letting his head fall back down.

“Well, that sounds like a situation.” Louis said sympathetically, reaching out to rub Zayn's shoulder. And, then he got an idea.

“Hey! Why don't we invite your little Liam to come out with us tomorrow night?” He suggested, and Zayn looked back up to give Louis a small glare.

“Why? So, I can embarrass myself further and have him realize I'm this big dork that has a huge crush on him?” He shot back, shaking his head.

Louis rolled his eyes, “Um, no, you idiot. So, you can get yourself ready, you know, quiff your hair, wear that one leather jacket, look fit as hell and make him realize that he's actually in love with you. Duh.”

Zayn seemed to actually contemplate it now, “You know, I could also wear those pants that make my ass look great.” He voiced quietly and Louis laughed.

“Exactly! Now get your phone out and text him.”

“But, what do I even say?” Zayn asked, looking completely lost as he unlocked his phone screen.

“Just say that you wanna make it up to him for spilling coffee on him, so you're taking him out to have a good time with great people.” Louis advised and watched as Zayn started to type out a message, stopping once he was done and letting his finger hover over the send button.

“What if he changed his number?”

“Don't think so.”

“What if he says no?”

“Wouldn't count on it.”

“What if he hates me?”

“Oh my fucking god, Zayn!” Louis finally shouted, yanking the phone from his hands and pressing send before Zayn could do anything about it.

They both breathed out a sigh of relief and Zayn immediately locked his phone, tucking it away and starting to jitter his fingers. “If he says no, I'm never talking to you again.” He warned, looking more worried than threatening.

Louis grinned, “More like you'll be thanking me when you guys finally admit you're perfect together and in love.”

Zayn rolled his eyes at that, but Louis could see the hopefulness in his eyes and that was enough matchmaking for Louis for one night.

“Okay, enjoy your little crisis now, I'm going to turn in.” Louis told him, standing up and starting to make his way to his bedroom.

“And dream about boys with green eyes?” Zayn shouted back at him, his voice teasing.

“Not a chance!” Louis yelled back, but he was secretly hoping that's exactly what he'd dream about.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two will be up by May 25th!!**


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